The statistical analyses of occurrence characteristics of the plasma bubbles and blobs are made by using more than 1000 cases of observation data from the swept frequency impedance probe aboard the Hinotori satellite. The results show that formations of the plasma bubbles have the following characteristics. 1) The spatial distribution of the occurrence of the plasma bubbles is in the equatorial region within occurrence of the plasma bubbles is limited in the nighttime; favorable periods of the plasma bubble formation depend on the type of the plasma bubbles; multiple plasma bubbles (MPB) have tendency to be generated in pre-midnight, while quasi periodic plasma bubbles (QPB) show their maximum occurrence in the post-midnight period. Solitary plasma bubbles (SPB) occur, however, rather independently to the local time in so far as in the night period, 3) the magnetic activity also controls the occurrence of the plasma bubbles; the occurrence of MPB phenomena shifts the peak period to the midnight side with increasing magnetic activity and the occurrence of QPB phenomena which covers the period from midnight to the morning side shows the expansion of their occurrence into late morning period with increasing magnetic activity, 4) correlation of the occurrence of the plasma bubbles to the solar radiation flux represented by F10.7 solar radio flux is evident for MPB and QPB while there is no relation between F10.7 and the occurrence of SPB. Occurrence of the plasma blobs has a complementary nature with that of the plasma bubbles. The occurrence region of the plasma blobs is limited in the edge parts of the plasma bubble occurrence region being limited in the nighttime. The occurrence of the plasma blobs decreases with increasing magnetic activity, while there is a strong anti-correlation of the occurrence of the plasma blobs to the solar radiation (F10.7). The relation of occurrence of the plasma bubbles and blobs to the development of the equatorial anomaly and the asymmetrical distributions of the background electron density suggests the importance of the generalized Rayleigh-Taylor instability including the effects of the electric field and the neutral wind in addition to the gravitational force for the generation of the plasma bubbles and blobs.

Observations of the subsurface geology of the Moon help advance our understanding of lunar origin and evolution. Radar sounding from the Kaguya spacecraft has revealed subsurface layers at an apparent depth of several hundred meters in nearside maria. Comparison with the surface geology in the Serenitatis basin implies that the prominent echoes are probably from buried regolith layers accumulated during the depositional hiatus of mare basalts. The stratification indicates a tectonic quiescence between 3.55 and 2.84 billion years ago; mare ridges were formed subsequently. The basalts that accumulated during this quiet period have a total thickness of only a few hundred meters. These observations suggest that mascon loading did not produce the tectonics in Serenitatis after 3.55 billion years ago. Global cooling probably dominated the tectonics after 2.84 billion years ago.

When C57BL/6 mice were partially hepatectomized (PHx), severe lymphocytosis was induced in the liver in the early phase of hepatocyte regeneration (4 to 12 hours after PHx). A major lymphocyte subset expanding in this organ was estimated to be natural killer 1.1 ؉ (NK1.1 ؉ ) intermediate CD3 (CD3 int ) cells (i.e., NKT cells). CD3 int cells are extrathymic T cells generated in situ in the liver. These changes were suppressed when mice with PHx were pretreated with a ␤ ␤-adrenergicD antagonist (i.e., ␤ ␤-blocker), propranolol (PPL). This might have been caused by sympathetic nerve stimulation during hepatocyte regeneration. An ␣ ␣-blocker showed a similar effect, although the magnitude of suppression was lower than that of the ␤ ␤-blocker. We previously showed that NK and NKT cells express surface ␤ ␤-adrenergic receptors and are activated in number by sympathetic nerve stimulation. In the present study, NK cytotoxicity mediated by liver lymphocytes obtained from mice with PHx decreased, whereas NKT cytotoxicity against syngeneic thymocytes increased. Purified CD3 int cells were also found to be able to mediate NKT cytotoxicity against regenerating hepatocytes. These results suggest that sympathetic nerve stimulation after PHx results in subsequent activation of NKT cells and that these NKT cells might be associated with immunologic surveillance during hepatocyte regeneration. (HEPATOLOGY 2000;31:907-915.)In a series of recent studies, we showed that extrathymically generated T cells (i.e., extrathymic T cells) are present in the liver.

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